Originally Posted by iclick

After reading all I could find for weeks about after-market rear stabilizers I finally decided on the Ride Str8 over the other offerings available. I also considered True-Track and the Alloy Art TXR, but the Ride Str8 seemed to be the best-engineered of the three for these reasons:

1. The engine mount is flush against the case, not suspended on a box at the end of five or six long bolts. To me, this was a better arrangement, as it will stress the bolts and threads less.

2. The box on the True-Track is blocked on three sides, restricting airflow to the tranny oil pan. True-Track claims the box acts as a "heatsink," but I doubt if it works well to actually dissipate heat, and probably doesn't dissipate nearly as much as it traps by its box-like design. I'm not sure why they didn't drill some large holes toward the rear to allow better airflow, but it may have been to retain structural rigidity.

3. The Ride Str8 is positioned out of the way of any clearance issues during cornering. The True-Track has a spotty record of causing contact with the frame's mount during hard-right cornering. Some have trouble, some don't. Hard contact in corners is not a good thing, as the contact area won't give and may raise the tires in extreme cases causing loss of traction.

4. Because the TT and TXR mount on the jacking track under the bike forward of the rear wheel, it would make it difficult to use my lever-type jack, which is handy when washing the rear wheel. It fits in that track taken up by the other two stabilizers, although it might work directly on the frame. A full-bike jack should work okay with these.

5. The TXR has three heim joints instead of one used in the other two designs. It restricts lateral and longitudinal movement, which some say causes additional vibration. I can see how that might happen, as the only movement allowed by the TXR is vertical. It's design seems like major overkill and I don't think the multiple heim joints is a productive arrangement.

As a negative, the Ride Str8 is more difficult to install than the other two. The problem is the lower bolt holding the rear peg mounting bracket, which requires moving the exhaust system out about an inch. Unfortunately, just removing the muffler rear mounting bolts and center engine mount for the exhaust pipe was not enough, as evidenced by the instructions, which were excellent and included color photos. I had to loosen heat shields, nuts at the rear head about 1/4", and remove the exhaust bracket nut above the starter. What really slowed me down was discovering the bracket tab was broken, which meant a trip to the local dealer for a replacement. I'm not sure if I broke it loosening the nut or it was already broken, but it was a hassle replacing it. That required loosening the bracket itself, which meant removing the negative side of the battery and the 12V electrical connections on top the starter first. The Allen bolts were hard to access, and my next tool purchase will be long ball-type Allen sockets, which would've helped a lot in this case.

The whole job took about two hours, but about an hour was futzing around with the broken bracket tab, including the trip to the dealer. Overall, I think the installation complexity compared to the others is worth enduring for the engineering superiority (IMO) and lack of clearance problems. Some report installing the Ride Str8 in 30 min., but I'd say an hour would be more typical, about half of that dealing with moving the exhaust system out of the way.

Another negative about the Ride Str8 is the price, which was higher than the other contenders. For the '07 it was $440 plus $25 shipping, considerably less (~$300) for some earlier bikes. It arrived in a very flimsy box not befitting the quality of the hardware. A 40-mile test ride revealed that the Ride Str8 indeed works as advertised, and the tail wagging behavior is now gone.

Originally Posted by RAGDOCTOR

Still feel the same about the Ride Str8 iclick nearly three years later? What you and most forum readers fail to realize is that the frames on these bike flex! The frames move out when you are turning left or right under a load. The stabilizers that mount to one side are not as effective as a unit such as TRUE-TRACK which mounts between the two frame rails giving them more stability. A stabilizer holding from one side fatigues the frame in time, this is a fact! The unit is made of billet aluminum and indeed acts as a heat sink. If you do your research as the company had for 13 years as indicated in their website before bringing their product to the market, such opinions would not be expressed. The dog bone in the cross member reinforces the area and yes you can still jack the bike. Less than an 1/8th of an inch clearance loss unlike what is perceived. There is no lean angle loss, the unit has always been within the frame rails.
Bottom line iclick, Harley Touring models were not designed to be a sport bike!

Originally Posted by RAGDOCTOR

Still feel the same about the Ride Str8 iclick nearly three years later? What you and most forum readers fail to realize is that the frames on these bike flex! The frames move out when you are turning left or right under a load. The stabilizers that mount to one side are not as effective as a unit such as TRUE-TRACK which mounts between the two frame rails giving them more stability. A stabilizer holding from one side fatigues the frame in time, this is a fact! The unit is made of billet aluminum and indeed acts as a heat sink. If you do your research as the company had for 13 years as indicated in their website before bringing their product to the market, such opinions would not be expressed. The dog bone in the cross member reinforces the area and yes you can still jack the bike. Less than an 1/8th of an inch clearance loss unlike what is perceived. There is no lean angle loss, the unit has always been within the frame rails.
Bottom line iclick, Harley Touring models were not designed to be a sport bike!